A strong offensive line is like a quality home security system —often taken for granted when performing well and much more noticeable when it is not.
The Athens offensive line has been dominant for most of the season, although coach Ryan Adams keeps the unit on a short leash. Against Alexander, Adams lit into the members of his offensive line because he did not think they were dominating to the extent they were capable of.
Adams is hard on the unit he considers the strongest part of his team, but offensive line coach Sheldon Hill views Adams' tough love approach as a positive.
“It does nothing more than to re-emphasize their importance,” he said. “When it comes from (Adams), it reinforces the fact that that’s the group we’re all rallying behind.”
Adams' unwavering expectations for his offensive fort is centered around the unit’s experience. Of the seven to eight players Hill says rotate into a given game, seven are upperclassmen and five are seniors.
“I don’t think you can put a price on experience,” Hill said. “The one thing about experience is it allows you to be proactive rather than reactive. There’s not a lot that (the offensive line) is gonna see that they haven’t seen before.”
For Hill, the most strategic part of substitution is managing everyone's rest. He is never worried about taking away from the repertoire of his unit because of substitutions.
“We’re pretty blessed across the board in that everybody’s skill set is pretty similar,” Hill said. “So I never feel the need to sub one guy in to do one particular thing.”
The experience is magnified when Athens wants to add wrinkles to the offense. Given the many position changes Athens has experienced this season, the stability of the offensive line has been the unwavering base in facilitating the new-look offense.
"Every time coach (Nathan) White would ask me 'Hey can they handle something else' my answer was always yes,' " Hill said. "Maybe with a less experienced group, we would have installed things at a different pace, but just based upon their experience and their technique, I piled more on their plate mentally as opposed to what I would've done with a younger group."
The Athens offensive line has blossomed into the foundational piece Adams thought it would be. Football is often a game won at the point of attack, and Athens has the advantage at the line of scrimmage most nights.
